TAIAT DANSA
«It’s necessary to consider dance within the parameters of art, its history and evolution. It seems that his career has always gone in a different way than the rest of the arts. We feel the need to dance, create and choreograph attentive to the most immediate present, in continuous listening with the ideological, social and artistic context that generally shakes art. We consider that it’s vital to bring the dance to those who don’t know it, for this it is necessary to create closeness and complicity with the public.»
Taiat Dansa’s works tend to be temperamental, with a great deal of criticism, passion and commitment. They arise from an impulse, the need to share an idea, a situation or a danced challenge with the audience. After this daring beginning, analysis, reflection and a committed dramaturgy follow.
This dance company is constantly searching for new languages of movement, for the change of traditional structures and dance techniques and for distortion and renewal as starting points to rediscover both body and dance. The creative process of Taiat’s works is closer to the cinematographic discourse than to the theatrical one. The company aims to present their desires, obsessions and conflicts using the body as the centre.
Taiat Dansa was founded in 2003 by Meritxell Barberá and Inma García, both with BA degrees in Classical and Contemporary Dance (Valencia).
Since then, their works have been presented in prestigious venues and festivals both nationally and internationally. They are currently working in France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Hungary, The Netherlands and USA.
They work from the beginning of their career attentive to the most immediate present, in continuous listening with the ideological, social and cultural context that generally shakes art. This interest in reflecting on dance and art has led them to always work in museum spaces both nationally and internationally.
Since 2009, they have worked as choreographers for other national and international companies. Taiat’s own choreographic and creative identity is shared therefore with other prestigious companies, such as Ballet Hispánico de Nueva York, DanceWorks Chicago, Ballet de la Generalitat Valenciana, DAF Roma or Introdans Arnhem. In these works, Taiat’ choreographic elements are closely related to an intense dramaturgical work based on cinema, literature and art.
Music is a key element in all their creations. The musician Caldo works in the composition of the music for each project from the beginning. In the years to come, Taiat Dansa will continue touring and creating new works both for their company and for other international companies.
After finishing their Bachelor’s degrees (Meritxell in Journalism and Inma in Art History), they studied a Master in Cultural Management and a Diploma in Performing Arts Management (Universitat de València) in 2003. Both choreographers decided to start a new challenge as cultural managers, in parallel to their work as creators and dancers.
In 2004, they founded GmExpresa –Gestión de Medios Culturales Expresa–, a creative studio offering cultural and innovation services. As a creative and strategic consultancy, GmExpresa both manages its own cultural projects as well as runs the creative direction, design and communication for other institutions and companies. One of these projects was the contemporary art fair Valencia.Art. This event was held annually at the Carmen Museum in Valencia from 2005 to 2009 and it brought together more than 30 galleries and more than 200 national and international artists.
At present, they are the directors of the Festival 10 Sentidos, their most ambitious project as cultural managers. This festival is held every May since 2011 in different theatres, museums, cultural centres and public spaces in the city of Valencia. National and international dance, theatre and music artists show their works as part of the main festival of the living arts in the city. This experience with the arts (performing arts, visual arts, film, audiovisual, literature, education…) has become a must-see event every May in Valencia. Each edition the programme is structured under a theme to reflect and bring to light, through art, different issues that concern our society and to highlight the role of art as a catalyst for social action.